Jake Gyllenhaal cannot be pigeonholed. Building on a filmography that includes a Oscar-nominated turn as cowboy Jack Twist in Brokeback Mountain, a greasy sociopathic turn in Nightcrawler, and the villain Mysterio in Spider-Man: Far From Home, Gyllenhaal is tackling a remake of 1989’s Road House — yes, the lovably cheesy, Patrick Swayze action flick about a rundown small-town Missouri bar saved by a philosophical bouncer.
Sorry, a philosophical cooler. Road House wants it to be very clear that he’s a cooler.
On Thursday, Amazon dropped the first full trailer for Gyllenhaal’s new action flick. Road House re-imagines the plot of the Swayze original: Dalton (Jake Gyllenhaal) “takes a job as a bouncer at a Florida Keys roadhouse, only to discover that this paradise is not all it seems,” according to the movie’s official description.
The Dalton of the new Road House is less “philosophy major turned bouncer with a zen demeanor and a trio of famous rules.” (Those rules: “Expect the unexpected,” “Take it outside,” “Be nice.”) In the remake, he’s an ex-UFC fighter who’s down on his luck and takes the bouncer job to keep afloat. Gyllenhaal got convincingly physically fit for the role, easily strong enough to rip out a man’s throat with one hand — something the original Patrick Swayze take on the character was rumored to do.
The 2024 Road House was directed by Doug Liman (Edge of Tomorrow, The Bourne Identity) based on a story by Anthony Bagarozzi (The Nice Guys), Charles Mondry, and David Lee Henry (the original Road House). Co-starring with Gyllenhaal are actors Daniela Melchior, Billy Magnussen, Jessica Williams, Joaquim de Almeida, Conor McGregor, Lukas Gage, Arturo Castro, B.K. Cannon, Beau Knapp, Darren Barnet, and Dominique Columbus.
Road House is skipping movie theaters and going directly to streaming via Prime Video, much to the displeasure of its director. On Wednesday, Liman penned an op-ed at Deadline in which he criticized Amazon for its plan to debut Road House on streaming, saying:
Amazon has no interest in supporting cinemas. Amazon will exclusively stream Road House on Amazon’s Prime. Amazon asked me and the film community to trust them and their public statements about supporting cinemas, and then they turned around and are using Road House to sell plumbing fixtures.
That hurts the filmmakers and stars of Road House who don’t share in the upside of a hit movie on a streaming platform. And they deprive Jake Gyllenhaal — who gives a career-best performance — the opportunity to be recognized come award season. But the impact goes far beyond this one movie. This could be industry shaping for decades to come.
The new Road House is coming to Prime Video on March 21.
